


A Small First Only Literally

by Pandrien



Series: A Series of Firsts [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 12:22:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3569522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandrien/pseuds/Pandrien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Arthur and Francis met Alfred and Matthew or alternately titled - "How things never quite work out how you expect"</p><p>The second story in the Series of Firsts Series</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Small First Only Literally

**Author's Note:**

> The second story in the Series of Firsts Series. Stories will not be posted in chronological order, so if you have an idea for a first, just let me know and I'll write it up!

The day Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefoy met Alfred Jones and Matthew Williams could easily be described as one of the best and maybe saddest days of their life. Arthur and Francis, after growing up swearing how much they loathed the other, finally hooked up about a week before Francis left their small town for culinary school. Arthur followed Francis a year later to get his English degree at a nearby college. To cut costs, the two decided to live together in a small one bedroom apartment between their schools and soon after they graduated, they were married in a small ceremony where Francis’ mother cried and Arthur’s brothers cheered much louder than was necessary. It was now two years later and the two men had a happy, stable life. Francis worked as head chef at a local restaurant and Arthur stayed home and wrote novels, one of which had become a best seller. The two men had a steady income, a beautiful home, and each other. In Arthur’s eyes, they were only missing one thing; children.  
It took a while for  
Arthur to convince Francis, but he managed to do it and so here they were, standing in front of St. Mary’s orphanage for abandoned children. Neither of them really had a full plan of what kind of child they were looking for, but they knew they didn’t want a newborn, and it’d definitely be easier for them to raise a boy.  
“Well, it’s now or never.” Arthur sighed gently, squeezing Francis’ hand as he smiled at him.  
“I suppose you’re right. I’m just hoping this is the right choice. I mean, a child Arthur? A child is a huge responsibility. What if I’m not good enough?”  
Pausing, Arthur turned to his husband.  
“Francis, you’ll be absolutely wonderful as a father. It’s me I’m worried about.” Arthur said, looking away nervously. “I mean, I can’t cook, and I’m too gruff. You’re just so open and loving. I just – I know the child will love you so much more.”  
Laughing, Francis squeezed Arthur’s hand reassuringly.  
“I guess we both had worries.” He said, smiling at his husband. “And I know you’ll be wonderful to  
our child. Yes, you’re a little gruff and awkward, but I’ve seen you with your nieces and nephews and you’re so loving and kind. You’ll be wonderful.”  
Smiling, Arthur nodded.  
“I suppose we were both worrying over nothing.”  
“Well, at least we got our worries out of the way. Now, we should head inside before we’re late for  
our appointment.”  
Walking inside, the two men saw a small woman with short blonde hair and green eyes sitting at the front desk, typing away. When they finally managed to catch her attention, she jumped.  
“Oh! I’m sorry, may I help you?” She asked, shuffling through the files on the desk.  
“Ah, we have an appointment. Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefoy.” Arthur explained.  
“Oh yes, they told me you were coming.” She said, standing up and brushing her skirt of dust. “Follow me and I’ll show you the children.”  
Following after her, both men glanced around, smiling at the drawings that were taped to the walls, all obviously drawn by younger children.  
“Here we are.” The woman announced, stopping in front of a blue and white painted door. “It’s playtime right now so all of the children are in here. Feel free to look around and interact with the kids, and don’t be too worried if some of them seem a bit shy. It’s been a while since we’ve had any potential parents in here. Oh, and if you need anything, just push the green button inside that says Lilli and I’ll be right down.”  
Nodding, the two men gently pushed the door open and gaped at all the kids running around.  
“How should we do this?”  
Arthur asked, turning to his husband.  
“Well, that woman said the kids haven’t seen a potential parent in quite a while so we should probably split up so we don’t overwhelm them. I’ll talk to the kids on the left and  
you’ll talk to the kids on the right.”  
“Sounds like a plan.” Arthur said, giving Francis a quick kiss before they both separated to talk to the children.  
_____  
Arthur hadn’t been having much luck finding a child he really clicked with, until he saw a child  
tucked away in a corner, away from all the others with a book and a stuffed animal. Walking forward, Arthur sat beside the small boy, smiling when he turned to look at Arthur.  
“Hello, I’m Arthur. What’s your name?”  
Looking surprised, the boy pointed at himself.  
“M-Me?” He asked in a small voice.  
Nodding, Arthur smiled at the boy.  
“I’m M-Matthew.” The boy said, gripping his toy tightly.  
“Well Matthew, what are you doing over here all alone?” Arthur asked.  
“The other kids don’t really like me, so I was going to read this book b-but I can’t understand some  
of the words.”  
Smiling down at Matthew, Arthur held out a hand towards the book.  
“Would you like me to read it to you?” He asked, smiling wider when Matthew nodded his head eagerly.  
Opening the book to the first page, Arthur held the book so that Matthew could see the pictures and began to read.  
____________

Francis had talked to almost all the children on his side and while they were all great, none of them  
really clicked with him. He was getting ready to give up and see if maybe Arthur had had any luck when he felt a quick pull on his pant leg. Looking down, he saw a small boy with golden hair and bright blue eyes staring up at him.  
“Who are you?” The boy asked, revealing his missing front right tooth.  
Bending down to the boy’s level, Francis smiled.  
“I’m Francis. Who are you?”  
“I’m Alfred. I’m six and a half.” The boy smiled.  
Pretending to gasp, Francis spoke.  
“Six and a half? You’re already almost an adult!”  
Puffing his chest out in pride, Alfred grinned before grabbing Francis’ hand and dragging him to two bean bag chairs sitting in a corner. Pushing Francis down on the larger bean bag, Alfred pulled a book from underneath the other bean bag chair and flopped down.  
“You should read this to me.” Alfred said, handing the book to Francis.  
“I’d read it but you prolly read better.”  
Smiling, Francis opened the book to the first page and started reading.  
“Superman was having a great day…”  
_______________  
When Arthur was finished with the story, he looked down to see Matthew asleep, arms still wrapped around his stuffed animal.  
Smiling, Arthur stood up, set the book down, and gently picked up Matthew, making sure to pick up his stuffed animal as well.  
Scanning the room for Francis, Arthur finally spotted the man sitting alone in a bean bag chair tucked in the corner. Walking to the man, he kept his voice low as to avoid waking the child in his arms.  
“Have any luck?” He asked, almost hoping Francis said no so they could take Matthew home.  
However, before Francis could respond, they were interrupted by a shout.  
“Hey, what’re you doing with Mattie?” Alfred shouted, holding another book in his arms and glaring at Arthur.  
“Mattie?” Arthur asked with a raised eyebrow, not noticing that Lilli had come in to check on them and was standing right behind Alfred.  
“Oh Alfred, you know what Mrs. Douglas said.” Lilli said, rubbing Alfred’s back.  
“But Mattie’s my best friend! You can’t take him away!” Alfred pleaded, tears forming as he pouted.  
Turning to Arthur and Francis, Lilli apologized.  
“I’m so sorry about this. Alfred’s very protective of his brother and tends to yell at potential  
parents for trying to take Matthew, so Mrs. Douglas separates them when potential parents come in to avoid that.”  
“Wait, they’re brothers?” Arthur asked, looking between Alfred and Matthew.  
“Well, yes. They haven’t had any luck getting adopted together so Mrs. Douglas had them separated in hopes of at least one getting adopted.” Lilli explained.  
“Oh Francis.” Arthur sighed, turning to his husband. “There’s no way we can separate them.”  
Sighing, Francis nodded in agreement.  
“I know darling. I guess that means we’ll just have to adopt them both.”  
“Are you sure?” Lilli asked, looking down at Alfred.  
“Yes, we’re sure.” Arthur said with a bright grin.  
“Alright, if you’re sure.” Lilli said, turning and heading for the door. “We’ll just have to finish a bit of paperwork and you’ll be all set.”  
When Arthur started to follow after her, Alfred ran up and grabbed his pant leg.  
“No, you can’t take Mattie!” He cried, tears streaming down his face.  
“Oh Alfred.” Francis cooed, bending down to wipe Alfred’s tears. “Matthew will be perfectly fine, especially with such a great brother to protect him.”  
“I can’t protect him if you take him!” Alfred angrily retorted.  
Bending down fully and picking up Alfred, Francis smiled.  
“Hmm, I suppose you’re right. Do you think you could protect him if we took you too?” Francis said.  
“Yeah, but no one wants both of us, so you’re gonna take Mattie and I’m gonna be here all alone.”  
Not having expected Alfred’s response, Francis hugged the boy close and gently rubbed his back.  
“Shh, it’s okay Alfred. We may be taking Matthew, but we’re taking you too, so you and your brother will still be together.” Francis cooed.  
“Promise?” Alfred asked sleepily, having tired himself with his tantrum.  
“I promise.” Francis replied, carrying Alfred as he followed Arthur to where they’d finish all the paperwork before taking their sons home.  
Their sons. It sounded so odd to Francis, but he couldn’t help but realize that he quite liked the  
sound of it.  
Once all the paperwork had been filled out, Lilli tucked it all away in a folder marked with their names and put it away.  
“Well, with the paperwork all done, all we need to do now is grab the boy’s stuff and you can be on your way. Just remember that there will be a court date in about six months to finalize the adoption and make sure the boys are okay and adjusted.” She said, leading Arthur and Francis down a smaller hallway which ended at a bright blue door.  
“This is where all the boys sleep.” Lilli explained as she led the way into the room and to the two furthermost beds.  
The beds were each gently made up with a small treasure chest like box sitting at the foot.  
Opening the chests, Lilli filled the small backpacks inside with the few articles of clothing beneath them.  
“Here we go.” She smiled, holding the bags out to Arthur and Francis. “The superman bag is Alfred’s and the polar bear one is Matthew’s.”  
Nodding, each man took a bag and headed towards the door, letting Lilli lead the way.  
“Oh, and also, in about a week you should receive all of their files including birth certificates and  
medical history. I have to collect them all and make sure they’re all correct, so unfortunately, I can’t give them to you today.” She said apologetically.  
“It’s fine. I’m sure we can manage, and if need be, we can always just ask the boys.” Arthur replied, heading for the front door of the building so they could all get in the car and head home.  
“Well, good luck!” Lilli grinned, waving goodbye as the men left.  
Arthur and Francis had luckily been given two child seats from Arthur’s brother.  
“Two in case one’s too small” them man had said when he handed them over.  
Buckling the two boys up, Arthur and Francis hurriedly got into the front seats and headed for home, keeping the radio off as to not wake the boys.  
After about an hour, they finally pulled into their drive way.  
“Home sweet home.” Francis whispered, turning to smile at his husband.  
“Let’s get the boys inside and into the bedroom we set up. We can set up the guest room as another bedroom later.” Arthur replied, trying to keep his grin mostly suppressed.  
Pulling the boys out of their car seats, Arthur and Francis took the boys inside and laid them together on the child bed they had purchased earlier.  
When they left the room, Francis turned to his husband and was surprised to see him crying.  
“Arthur, what’s wrong?” He asked, pulling the man close.  
“God Francis, they’re children. We have children now!” He exclaimed, hugging Francis tightly. “I’m so happy.”  
Smiling, Francis kissed Arthur’s forehead before leading the man to their bedroom.  
“I’m glad you’re happy.” Francis smiled. “We should probably take a nap though. It’s been a pretty crazy day.”  
Nodding in agreement, Arthur laid down beside Francis, resting his head on the other man’s chest.  
“Thank you Francis.” Arthur whispered before drifting off to sleep, not noticing his husband’s smile before he too drifted off.  
What neither of them expected was being awoken about two and a half hours later by the sound of crying.  
Jolting out of bed, Arthur scrambled out the bedroom door, following the cries to the room where he had put the boys earlier.  
Pulling the door open, he saw Matthew sobbing while Alfred, tears beading up, tried to calm him down.  
Walking forward, Arthur knelt at the boy’s bedside.  
“Matthew, what’s wrong?” He asked calmly, rubbing the boys back softly to sooth him.  
After some blubbering he couldn’t fully understand, Alfred turned to him.  
“He says Kumas gone.” Alfred said.  
“Kuma?” Arthur asked, confused as to what they could be talking about.  
“Yeah Kuma, his bear. “Alfred responded.  
“Ohh.” Arthur nodded. “We must have accidentally left him in the car. Let me just go fetch him real quick.”  
Slipping out of the room, Arthur jogged to the front door, slipped on some shoes, and headed to the car, finding the aforementioned bear on the floor in the back of the car where the boys had slept. Picking it up and brushing off a bit of dirt, Arthur headed back inside and to the room where the boys were, handing Matthew his toy, which was quickly held tight to the smaller boy’s chest.  
“There we go lad. “Arthur said, smiling gently at the boy. “That’s better now, isn’t it?”  
“Yes, thank you.” Matthew muttered shyly, staring down at his blankets.  
“No need to thank me. I’m just glad we got him back to you.” Arthur replied, petting the boy’s hair. “Now since we’re all up, how about we get something to eat?”  
Alfred’s eyes lit up and he jumped out of the bed, bouncing excitedly.  
“Oooh, can we have burgers? Or pancakes, ‘cause those are Mattie’s favorite, or even-”  
Laughing, Arthur picked the boy up and set him on his him, holding out a hand for Matthew so they could head to the kitchen.  
“Alright, calm down silly. We can see about having pancakes for breakfast tomorrow and burgers another night. Tonight is Mac and Cheese night though.”  
Setting the boys on the couch, Arthur kissed each of their foreheads lovingly.  
“Let me just go get Francis and we’ll start on dinner.” He said, walking back to the bedroom and gently shaking the man awake.  
“Come on Francis, it’s dinner time.” Arthur said, getting no response.  
“Well, I suppose if you don’t want to get up and cook, I’ll just have to make dinner for everyone.” Arthur smirked, laughing when Francis shot up in bed.  
“No, I’ll cook!” He yelped, struggling to get out of his blankets before Arthur could make it down to the kitchen.  
“Oh calm down love, I promised to leave the cooking to you and I don’t intend to break that promise.” Arthur grinned, giving his husband a quick kiss before heading back to the living room to check on the boys.  
When he walked in, the two of them were quietly whispering to one another, stopping when they saw Arthur.  
“What’s wrong?” Arthur asked worriedly.  
“What do we call you guys? Cause we were taught about having a mommy and a daddy, but there’s no mommy here.”  
“Oh, I suppose you can call me Dad, only if you want to of course, and Francis will be Papa.”  
“So we have two dads? “Alfred asked, furrowing his brow.  
“Well, I suppose you do.” Arthur answered, slightly worried over how the boy would react.  
“Sweet! Kids at school are gonna be so jealous!”  
Laughing, Arthur ruffled Alfred’s hair before pulling out a pot and a bag of noodles so that Francis could quickly make dinner when he made it to the kitchen.  
Francis walked in not a second after, hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and sleeves rolled up to his elbows.  
“Macaroni and Cheese sound good.” He asked Matthew and Alfred, smiling when they both enthusiastically nodded.  
It was a bit strange, having their simple home filled with the sounds of the two boys humming and playing, but both Arthur and Francis realized that the two boys whispering and laughing, made their house actually feel like a home. They were all happy, healthy, and most important of all, surrounded by people whom they would soon fully realize they loved and whom dearly loved them in return. Arthur and Francis may have been expecting to bring home only one child, but neither of them could find it in themselves to regret their decision, especially when they found Alfred and Matthew asleep, curled together on the couch with small smiles on each of their faces.


End file.
